Parliament yesterday received, deliberated on and adopted two reports. The Report of the Committee on Legal, Rules and Privileges on Assessment of Adherence to the Treaty by the Partner States and the Report of the Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources on the On-Spot Assessment of EAC Projects and Programmes on Tourism and Wildlife sailed through the floor of the House.
The Committee on Legal, Rules and Privileges was tasked to assess compliance by the Partner States to the provisions of Articles 6 and 7 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC. The Committee visited the Partner States holding discussions with various stakeholders including the respective Ministries of Justice, respective parliaments and institutions of defence and police as well as the civil society. The Committee noted that all EAC Partner States had generally expressed the political will to adhere to the principles of good governance, democracy, rule of law and observance of human rights and social justice.
The Assembly urged the Council of Ministers to cause establishment of Ombudsman and Human Rights Commission Offices in the Partner States where they do not currently exist. They further urged the Council of Ministers to initiate discussions that shall arrive at a Constitution for East Africa leading to political federation.
Contributing to the debate, Members called for the review and strengthening of the Treaty and reiterated the need for inclusion of enforcement and sanction mechanisms within the Treaty to deal with the non-compliance of the same.
In her submissions, Hon Dora Byamukama, EALA MP, urged the respective Ministries of EAC to consolidate their positions as the focal points of integration and to work closely with other ministries to ensure they comply with the provisions of the Treaty.
EAC Secretary General Amb Juma Mwapachu, congratulated EALA for taking the initiative to assess the adherence to the Treaty and urged the Partner States to continuously fulfill the said obligations. He mentioned that last year, the Media Owners Associations’ passed a resolution during the 3rd EAC Media Summit in Kampala, Uganda to work closely with the EAC to put in place an East African Media Owners Association. Once established, the Association shall among other things oversee a legal framework for media self regulation.
The Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers, Hon Hafsa Mossi supported the recommendations of the report.
The On Spot Assessment of EAC Projects and Programs in the Tourism and Wildlife Sectors was carried out to take stock of progress made so far with regards to implementing EAC Projects and Programmes. The assessment further sought to interface with stakeholders in the industry and suggest recommendations for improvement in the sector for the benefit of all East Africans. It brought to fore the fact that infrastructural impediments affect the marketing of the EAC as a single tourist destination urging the EAC instead, to take on the task of marketing the region as a bloc since individual Partner States tended to compete with each other instead.
The report further called for increase in interaction between the Assembly and industry actors, both private and public to ensure the coherence and ownership of EAC policies, directives and laws.
In his submissions, Hon Dan Kidega, EALA MP, called for improvement of the quality of service in the tourism sector with Hon Catherine Kimura, EALA MP, acknowledging the need for the set-up of more Centres’ of Excellence in the region. Hon Janet Mmari EALA MP, suggested that the region jointly plans the infrastructural development projects to enable the EAC to take advantage of synergism.
In the course of the next two weeks, the Assembly shall consider important business for the Community including the 2nd and 3rd readings of the EAC Elections Bill, the EAC Service Commission Bill, the Inter-University Council of East Africa (Amendment) Bill respectively, EALA is also expected to debate and adopt various Committee Reports, as well as hold interactive sessions with the Members of both Houses of the Rwanda Parliament. The Assembly shall also participate in activities marking the commemoration of Genocide.
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For more Information, contact: Bobi Odiko, Senior Public Relations Officer; East African Legislative Assembly; Tel: +255-27-2508240 Cell: +255 787 870945, +254-733-718036; Email: bodiko@eachq.org Web: https://www.eala.org Arusha, Tanzania
